[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 145 (Thursday, October 16, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Pages S12730-S12732]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              TROOP MORALE

  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, today two news articles came to my 
attention regarding the recent survey conducted by the Stars and 
Stripes newspaper on the level of troop morale in Iraq. I ask unanimous 
consent that they be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

              [From the Stars and Stripes, Oct. 16, 2003]

 Ground Truth, Day 2: In Survey, Many in Iraq Call Morale Low; Leaders 
                        Say Job Is Getting Done

                          (By Ward Sanderson)

       What is the morale of U.S. troops in Iraq?
       Answers vary. High-ranking visitors to the country, 
     including Department of Defense and congressional officials, 
     have said it is outstanding.
       Some troops on the ground have begged to differ, writing to 
     Stars and Stripes and to others about what they call low 
     morale on their part and on the part of their units.
       There was a correlation between such things as local 
     services and release dates on the one hand, and morale on the 
     other.
       Stars and Stripes sent a team of reporters to Iraq to try 
     to ascertain the states of both conditions and morale. Troops 
     were asked about morale, among many other issues, in a

[[Page S12731]]

     17-point questionnaire, which was filled out and returned by 
     nearly 2,000 persons.
       The results varied; sometimes dramatically:
       Among the largest group surveyed, Army troops, the results 
     looked much like a bell curve. Twenty-seven percent said 
     their personal moral was ``high'' or ``very high.'' Thirty-
     three percent said it was ``low'' or ``very low.'' The 
     largest percentage fell in the middle, saying it was 
     ``average.''
       Among the second largest group, reservists and National 
     Guard members, the differences were much starker. Only 15 
     percent said their own morale was ``high'' or ``very high,'' 
     while 48 percent said it was ``low'' or ``very low.''
       Among the Marines, the next largest group 44 percent said 
     their morale was ``high'' or ``very high,'' and only 14 
     percent said it was ``low'' or ``very low.''
       Among airmen, the smallest of the four major groups 
     surveyed because fewer questionnaires were allowed to be 
     circulated to them, the results were also very positive. 
     Thirty-nine percent said their morale was ``high'' or ``very 
     high,'' and only 6 percent said it was ``low'' or ``very 
     low.''
       Very few Navy servicemembers could be found to question in 
     Iraq.
       The questionnaire findings can't be projected to all the 
     servicemembers in Iraq. Still, the reporting of ``lows'' 
     among the two largest groups surveyed, Army and Reserve/
     National Guard, seemed significant. The views of these 
     troops, at least, appeared to contrast sharply with those of 
     the visiting VIPs.
       Respondents to the survey were not given a definition of 
     morale. They responded according to what they interpreted the 
     word to mean. Some believe morale reflects the degree of 
     well-being felt by the servicemember. On the other hand, 
     commanders say that in measuring morale, they want to know if 
     the servicemember is following orders and getting the job 
     done.
       Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, the top U.S. officer in Iraq, 
     said that low morale isn't an issue because troops are 
     fulfilling the mission.
       ``Morale is . . . not necessarily giving them Baskin-
     Robbins,'' he said in a Stars and Stripes interview. 
     ``Sometimes it's being able to train them hard and keep them 
     focused in a combat environment so they can survive.
       ``So at its most fundamental level within our Army, taking 
     care of soldiers and their morale could have very few worldly 
     comforts. But the morale of the soldier is good. He's being 
     taken care of, he's accomplishing his mission, he's being 
     successful in the warfighting.''
       Other military leaders say they are always looking at ways 
     to improve the morale of their troops. ``Morale begins with 
     caring leaders looking their soldiers in the eye,'' said Lt. 
     Col. Jim Cassella, a Pentagon spokesman. ``When senior 
     leaders visit the troops in Iraq, they relate that the troops 
     tell them that morale is good, a fact that's backed up by re-
     enlistment and retention rates.''
       (These rates have been acceptable or good for the services 
     overall. Figures for re-enlistments in Iraq are not available 
     yet, officials said. In the Stripes survey, half or more 
     respondents from the Army, Marines and Reserves said they 
     were unlikely to stay in the service. Officials say re-
     enlistments normally drop after conflicts.)
       Cassella said that leaders visiting Iraq seek out the 
     opinions of troops. Some say the views expressed may be 
     distorted as a result of the nature of the get-togethers, 
     ``dog and pony shows,'' in the words of combat engineer Pfc. 
     Roger Hunsaker.
       ``When congressional delegations came through,'' said one 
     36-year-old artillery master sergeant who asked not to be 
     identified, commanders ``hand-picked the soldiers who would 
     go. They stacked the deck.''
       Others on the ground in Iraq think top leaders are right 
     more times than they are given credit for.
       ``I heard that reporters/politicians were trying to say 
     morale was down out here,'' Petty Officer Matthew W. Early 
     wrote on his questionnaire at Camp Get Some in southern Iraq. 
     ``What do people back home expect us to feel after a war? Are 
     we supposed to be as happy here as we are with our friends 
     and families back home? Hell no.
       ``Of course, when confronted by reporters, we're going to 
     voice out opinions about our situation. Unfortunately, some 
     people like to complain about how they live or what they 
     don't have. The complaint concerning morale is the voice of 
     the minority, not the majority.''
       In the Stripes survey, troops consistently rated their 
     unit's morale as lower than their own. John Kay, marketing 
     director for the Army Research Institute, said, ``Soldiers 
     always rate self [personal] morale higher than unit moral. 
     This is nothing new.''
       Troops may wish to report what they perceive as the true 
     morale situation without getting themselves into trouble, a 
     way of saying, ``I'm OK, but the unit's not.''
       Some of the gap can also be the result of hearing other 
     troops complain, compounding the impression that unit morale 
     is low, even if each complainer believes his or her own 
     morale is better.
       ``Both are true,'' said Charles Moskos, a military 
     sociologist with Northwestern University.
       The military studies morale regularly, but ``the further 
     you go up the chain in the officer corps, the reality of day-
     to-day morale cannot register completely,'' said Lt. Col. 
     Daniel Smith, retired chief of research for the Center for 
     Defense Information. ``Whereas when you talk to the platoon 
     sergeants, platoon leaders and even company commanders, you 
     get a better sense of the true state of affairs. Do the 
     weapons work? Are they getting hot meals? Are they getting 
     enough rest? Are their leaders competent and not taking 
     unnecessary risks?''
       Unlike some officials who have visited Iraq, Defense 
     Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, during a September stop in 
     Iraq, spoke not about morale per se, but about the importance 
     of the mission and about sacrifice.
       ``You're people . . . who weren't drafted, you weren't 
     conscripted, you searched your souls and decided that you 
     wanted to step forward and serve your country,'' he told the 
     4th Infantry Division, according to a Pentagon transcript.
       Another speech to air assault soldiers of the 101st 
     Airborne division echoed the sentiment:
       ``The important thing I would also add is that every one of 
     you is a volunteer. You all asked to do this, and that is 
     impressive and it's appreciated.''
                                  ____


               [From the Washington Post, Oct. 16, 2003]

               Many Troops Dissatisfied, Iraq Poll Finds

                  (By Bradley Graham and Dana Milbank)

       A broad survey of U.S. troops in Iraq by a Pentagon-funded 
     newspaper found that half of those questioned described their 
     unit's morale as low and their training as insufficient, and 
     said they do not plan to reenlist.
       The survey, conducted by the Stars and Stripes newspaper, 
     also recorded about a third of the respondents complaining 
     that their mission lacks clear definition and characterizing 
     the war in Iraq as of little or no value. Fully 40 percent 
     said the jobs they were doing had little or nothing to do 
     with their training.
       The findings, drawn from 1,935 questionnaires presented to 
     U.S. service members throughout Iraq, conflict with 
     statements by military commanders and Bush administration 
     officials that portray the deployed troops as high-spirited 
     and generally well-prepared. Though not obtained through 
     scientific methods, the survey results suggest that a 
     combination of difficult conditions, complex missions and 
     prolonged tours in Iraq is wearing down a significant portion 
     of the U.S. force and threatening to provoke a sizable exodus 
     from military service.
       In the first of a week-long series of articles, Stars and 
     Stripes said yesterday that it undertook the survey in August 
     after receiving scores of letters from troops who were upset 
     with one aspect or another of the Iraq operation. The 
     newspaper, which receives some funding from the Defense 
     Department but functions without editorial control by the 
     Pentagon, prepared 17 questions and sent three teams of 
     reporters to Iraq to conduct the survey and related 
     interviews at nearly 50 camps.
       ``We conducted a `convenience survey,' meaning we gave it 
     to those who happened to be available at the time rather than 
     to a randomly selected cross section, so the results cannot 
     necessarily be projected as representing the whole 
     population,'' said David Mazzarella, the paper's editorial 
     director in Washington. ``But we still think the findings are 
     significant and make clear that the troops have a different 
     idea of things than what their leaders have been saying.''
       Experts in public opinion and the military concurred that 
     the poll was not necessarily representative, but they 
     characterized it as a useful gauge of troops' sentiment. 
     ``The numbers are consistent with what I suspect is going on 
     there,'' said David Segal, a military sociologist at the 
     University of Maryland at College Park. ``I am getting a 
     sense that there is a high and increasing level of 
     demoralization and a growing sense of being in something they 
     don't understand and aren't sure the American people 
     understand.''
       The paper quoted Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, commander of 
     U.S. forces in Iraq, saying in a Sept. 9 interview for the 
     series that ``there is no morale problem.'' He said 
     complaints among troops are ``expected'' and part of ``the 
     Army's normal posture,'' whether the soldiers are deployed or 
     not.
       ``We haven't had time to study the survey, but we take all 
     indicators of morale seriously,'' said Bryan Whitman, a 
     senior Pentagon spokesman. ``It's the reason we've instituted 
     several programs to address morale and welfare issues.'' A 
     White House spokesman had no comment.
       Some military experts pointed to good news for the 
     administration in the survey. Military historian Eliot Cohen, 
     who serves on a Pentagon advisory panel, noted that the 
     proportion that said the war was worthwhile--67 percent--and 
     the proportion of troops that said they have a clearly 
     defined mission--64 percent--is amazingly high.'' He added 
     that complaints are typical. ``American troops have a God-
     given right and tradition of grumbling,'' he said.
       In the survey, 34 percent described their morale as low, 
     compared with 27 percent who described it as high and 37 
     percent who said it was average; 49 percent described their 
     unit's morale as low, while 16 percent called it high.
       In recent days, the Bush administration has launched a 
     campaign to blame the news media for portraying the situation 
     in Iraq in a negative light. Last week, Bush described the 
     military spirit as high and said that life in Iraq is ``a lot 
     better than you probably think. Just ask people who have been 
     there.''

[[Page S12732]]

       But Stars and Stripes raised questions about what those 
     visiting dignitaries saw in Iraq. ``Many soldiers, including 
     several officers, allege that VIP visits from the Pentagon 
     and Capitol Hill are only given hand-picked troops to meet 
     with during their tours of Iraq,'' the newspaper said in its 
     interview with Sanchez. ``The phrase `Dog and Pony Show' is 
     usually used. Some troops even go so far as to say they've 
     been ordered not to talk to VIPs because leaders are afraid 
     of what they might say.''
       The newspaper also noted in that interview that its 
     reporters were told that some soldiers who had complained of 
     morale problems had faced disciplinary actions known as 
     Article 15s, which can result in reprimand, extra duties and 
     forfeiture of pay. Sanchez said he did not know of any such 
     punishments, but he added that they would have been handled 
     at a lower level.
       The paper's project recorded significant differences in the 
     morale of various units, but overall found that Army troops 
     tended to sound more dissatisfied than Air Force personnel 
     and Marines, and that reservists were the most troubled.
       Uncertainty about when they are returning home was a major 
     factor in dampening morale, according to the newspaper. The 
     interviews were conducted at a time when some reserve and 
     regular Army units were learning that their tours had been 
     extended. The Pentagon has since sought to provide a clearer 
     rotation plan and has begun granting troops two-week home 
     leaves.
       Although Pentagon officials say they have seen no sign yet 
     of a rise in the number of troops deciding against 
     reenlisting, the survey suggested that such a surge may be 
     coming soon. A total of 49 percent of those questioned said 
     it was ``very unlikely'' or ``not likely'' that they would 
     remain in the military after they complete their current 
     obligations. In the past, enlistment rates tended to drop 
     after conflicts, but many defense experts and noncommissioned 
     officers have warned of the potential for a historically high 
     exodus, particularly of reservists.

                          ____________________